The term “okimono” can be translated from Japanese as “decorative object” or “object to be displayed”. Unlike the netsuke miniatures, which were used as fasteners for obi sashes, okimonos have no practical purpose, but are purely decorative. That is why they were often exported. This figure of a barbarian with coral was originally part of the aristocratic collections and was transferred to the National Gallery Prague from the State Chateau in Sychrov. The likeness of the man with coral in his hand is in line with the Japanese typification of the “southern barbarians” or “barbarians from the Southern Seas”, who were called nanban. The “nanban goods” were imported to Japan from Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines, or were exported to these countries from Japan and then imported to Europe (e.g. the so-called nanban lacquerware).
